Improvement in portable steam-engines



To all whom it may concern;

Beit known that I, WILLIAM WRIGHT, of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Steam'Machinery; and I hereby declare that the following, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, is such a full, clear, and exact description of the same as will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same. Y This invention relates to the construction of portable steam-en gines or'other steam-en gin es in which the boiler forms the frame or support to the steam-cylinder crank-shaft and all other appurtenances of the steam-engine which rel ceive or impart the propelling-power, and which constitute the prime mover.

In such steam engines, as heretofore constructed, there was necessarily muc-h strain upon the various parts of the boiler, due' in part to the direct action ot' steam on the piston j in the cylinder, which forms one xture to the boiler, and to its indirect action on the snpport ofthe crankshaft, which forms another iixture to the boiler, the tendency of which is to alternately distend and contract the intermediate portlons of the boiler, and,in part, to the jars and vibrations attending the operation of the machine, the effect of which is increased with the number ot' independent points of attachment of the engine or its parts to the boiler. For these reasons portable steam-engines are ot' comparatively little durability and require frequent repairs. The object ot' this invention is to remedy this important defect, and I have accomplished the same by a new mode of combining the engine with the boiler-'5, e., bya mode of attaching the former to the latter.

. In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portable engine and boiler complete. Fig. 2 is a plan view ofthe engine, exhibiting the manner of attachment of the engine to the boiler, shownin section 5 and Fig. 3

, is a vertical transverse section online x y in V Fig. 1. For the purposes of this specification no particular reference is needed to the boiler. It g will suffice to say that it may be of the general L -form shown in the drawings, or of any other known or suitable form or arrangement and l construction. In `this instance the boiler is supf g posed to belong' to the tubular class, being of Y y IMPROVEMENT IN PORTABLE.STEAM-ENGINES.

'to one of the vertical linto the boiler.

from the cross-head c, to which" its plunger or play to the crank c.

. lifUNIT@ `STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM WRIGHT, on NEW YORK, n. Y.

Specification" forming part of Letters Patent No. 49,334, dated-August 8, 1865.

a parallelopiped form, surmounted by a dome, B, from which springs the chimney`C.

The engine is mouutedagainst and attached sides ot' the boiler,- to counterbalance which the iiy-wheel F is established on the opposite side. There is no particular novelty `in the construction, arrangement, or operation of the engine proper. Like most portable engines,'.it consists of a steamcylinder, a, containing a piston whose reciprocating travel within-the cylinder is governed by the valves in the steam-chest b. The movement of the piston is transmitted to the main crank c by means of acounecting-rod,d,jointed to the cross-head c, to which the piston is attached, and which is guided in ways or guides g, fast to the framef. A rocking beam, h, having its fulcrum at i, and receiving its motion from the main crank c through the intermediary of the double auxiliary crank j, fast onthe y pin of the said main-crank, actuates the valverod. the pipe Z, and is exhausted through the pipe m and traversing vessel n, through which the feed or water-supply pipe o passes, so as to utilize the waste heat of steam for the purpose ot' heating the water previous to being injected The force-pump p is'operated piston rod is attached.

Those portions of the engine just described and referred to are 1n no 4respect novel or original, and consequentlyform no part of my present inventin,my reason for inserting them being to further the complete elucidation of my actual improvement, to which I shall now more particularly refer. Y Y

With the head of the cylinder a is cast, in one piece, the bed-plate or frame f, which is a shell of semi-cylindrical form, so as to partially iuclose the moving parts ofthe engine. At each end the frame isuprovided with brackets r, whereby it is securely bolted to the boiler. The outer end of the frameor the end opposite to that which forms the cylinder-head, is formed into a bracket, s, projecting from the rear end of the boiler, and' carrying the boxes or pillow-blocks or bearingsof the main drivy in g-shaft, and is properly-recessed to allow free ing edges of the semicylindrical frame situated in the vertical plane passing through the Steam is admitted into the chestthrough The inner and overhang. 4

axis of the steam-cylinder are provided with guides or ways g, upon which the cross-head whereby the coupling oi the steam-piston rod with the movable parts of the steam-engineis effected have their reciprocating travel. The cylinder head and frame is attached to the steam-cylinder, or,`vice versa, the cylinder is attached to the frame, by means of bolts passin g through the flange v Fro'm the foregoing description it will be understood that the whole engine may be fitted and truly vadjusted without reference to the boiler, and that the whole engine, when fitted to the frame of which it is an integral part,

can with ease and at a comparatively little c ost be secured or fitted to the boiler.

As'to the working of this improvement, it will be seen that inasmuch as the cylinder is,

asv it were, suspended-. e., having mori-gid* connection with the boiler-the strain attend-" ing the operation of the other reciprocating engines is entirely done away with Having thus fully described my invention and the manner in which the same is or may` be carried into effect, I claimy y 1 The arrangement of portable steam-engines l with reference to the manner herein described of attaching the engine proper to the boiler. f

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification before two subscribing@ witnesses.

' WM. WRIGHT. Witnesses A. PoLLoK, CHAs. J. F. HARDWICH. 

